H. Melt is a poet, artist, and educator who lives in Chicago. They are the author of The Plural, The Blurring, and On My Way to Liberation. They edited the anthology Subject to Change: Trans Poetry & Conversation. Lambda Literary...  read

Jill Howe is the producer of Story Sessions, a showcase featuring true stories and live music. Jill has facilitated her monthly storytelling group Friends with Words for the last six years, organizes and teaches Story Sessions writing retreats, and presented...  read

Sara Ross Witt was born in Ohio, where she was raised on storytelling, magic, and family myths. She is a writer, mother, and future business owner. A former co-host of Tuesday Funk and a graduate of The New School MFA...  read

A proud Chicago native, Sophie Amado holds a BA in English and Spanish from the University of Iowa and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago. Here, she taught undergraduate writing and rhetoric and started editing for...  read

Vojislav Pejović was born in Montenegro, former Yugoslavia, in 1972. He is a neurobiologist by training and a medical communications professional by occupation. His publications include two novels, The Life and Death of Milan Junak and American Sfumato. He lives...  read

Norman Doucet was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and spent his formative years there, which is reflected in many of the mistakes he has made in his life. For instance, he likes to point out that he was both a...  read

Cameron McGill is a writer, educator, musician, and the poetry editor of Blood Orange Review. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The American Poetry Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, Mid-American Review, and elsewhere. His chapbook, Meridians, is forthcoming this...  read

Kenji Kuramitsu (he/him/his) is a writer, hospital chaplain and social worker living in Chicago. Kenji holds graduate degrees from the University of Chicago (MSW) and McCormick Theological Seminary (M.Div), where he serves as an Adjunct Professor in Ministry. Kenji's writing...  read

Sahar Mustafah is the author of Code of the West, an award-winning short story collection. Her first novel, The Beauty of Your Face, is forthcoming from W.W. Norton next year. She's taught wonderful and misunderstood teenagers for over twenty years. Please...  read

Elizabeth Gomez is a Chicago based comedian, writer, and storyteller. She established the city's first all female roller derby league, The Windy City Rollers, in 2004. She is the founding writer of a writing collective called Drinkers with Writing Problems...  read